Tag Archives: tips

one of the questions we get most often is how to keep a clean home with two kids, or heck – without any kids. i think its best to first start off by saying a clean home isnt important for everyone, and thats okay. au contraire, if youre scoffing at someones clean home thinking “that isnt real life, theres no way”, let me tell you its totally completely possible – even without dedicated your every free hour to it. though each families priorities and day-to-day is different, there are a few things we’ve implemented in our home that keep things running smooth, and i feel super duper strong about them.

when we take photos, theyre untouched to omit messes. taking these photos today, i had just put the kids down for a nap – their playroom is clean, the kitchen sink is empty but of one cup, and the laundry basket has three items in it. granted, this isnt our 24/7 — sunday night, our house is an insane mess from being away during our usual weekend advntures — but every night, we fix up. and as the day goes on, we fix up.

a few tips on keeping a clean home:

make the bed every morning — this has been the toughest one for us, but i’ve noticed a huge difference in the mornings we follow through. it seems like such a silly detail, but its been test proven that productivity increases and the overall comfort clean feeling of our home increases with a well made bed.

keep up as you go. after breakfast, the kids play and i do the dishes we just dirtied. sometimes, theyre feeling the moods and sit at my feet fussing. and still i do those dishes. it honestly takes three minutes, and then its done. there isnt the pile. after each meal we do this, and it gives us one less thing to worry about come bed time.

less is more – less stuff seems like a no brainer, but easier said than done. we recently opened a fortune cookie that spoke straight to my heart saying “a bargain is not a bargain if it is not something you’ll use” can i get an amen?! we’re constantly going through our home and pruning to make room for what we do use to shine, encourage, inspire, settle our minds. i’m sure youve all heard of the marie khan method by now, but goodness, has she got a good thing going. if you arent using it and it doesnt spark joy, toss it. if youre keeping something for the once every five years use or a “maybe i’ll use it someday”, toss it. borrow from someone else if you have to. share with each other.

nightly walk throughs – every night, steve and i spend roughly ten minutes before heading to bed touching up any messes. the usual is a few dishes leftover in the sink, a toy that escaped behind the chair, folding up blankets, or restocking the diaper bag. its a silent few moments that bring our home back in order for the next day. let me tell you, for me personally, there is nothing more calming then waking to a clean home ready to take on the next day — going to bed with the mindset that nothing really has to be done.

give everything a place – and if it doesnt have one, question if you really honestly need it. the biggest area this has helped is our bathroom, where we were hoarding so many things under the sink that just sat there. we brought what we used most into jars and containers on the counter, and tossed most everything else.

appreciate white space – the idea that every inch of every wall has to be covered in a collage of picture frames is absolute myth, i swear it. leave a wall bare, or add a single small mirror as a stand alone piece. i suppose this goes back to having less, but for us the two realizations came at different times. after getting rid of so much, we still had cluttered wall space. in cleaning up everything, we forgot to look up from the piles at the walls. following the same rule of if it sparks joy or is useful, we ended up taking a large bag to the thrift store.

after dinner, i’ll throw a load of laundry in the wash, and before bed, its tossed into the dryer. more often than not, it sits there getting picked at for this or that that we need for the day. but on the off chance it makes it to our drawers, i make a point to fold laundry with oliver there (and soon, maribelle) this makes it insanely difficult, and most of it gets unfolded, but he LOVES to help. the way he swells with pride at throwing his underwear into the drawer in a pile alone makes it worth it. which leads to our next tip..

lead by example – this has been one of the biggest blessings in parenthood for me. before nap time and before bed, the kids are not only told to put their toys away, but shown. we put them away together, encouraging their good work ethics along the way, and its amazing how much they love it! we’re at the point now where oliver puts his toys away without asking and often without our praise. its a lot easier to clean up with the times come when there isnt a toddler fighting your every move but instead, helping right along beside you.

we truly think its a matter of making it a priority, and would like to think that priority of a clean home will leak into other aspects of our lives. wanting to finish a task, being content with work before play. or heck, work AS play. in our experience, a clean home has meant a cleaner mind. less to worry about, and more time to enjoy together. to be present, creative, and our best self. i would love to hear what ways you keep a clean happy home, or what you plan on changing!

“not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” — phil. 4:11-13

a spontaneous visit to our friend helen and her family was just what we needed this weekend. after deciding against a trip to massachusetts with the kids at an age they wont remember anything, we traveled 12 hours to stay the weekend in kentucky. the kids were AWESOME during both the trip there and the trip back. seriously, all fear of travel with these two is now gone. praise the lord!

leaving at around 4:30 am, we were up early enough to watch the sunrise. steve and i love to leave for roadtrips early in the am – the excitement of the dew morning air mixed with mcdonalds breakfast sandwiches is incomparable. the kids slept most of the way there since theyre usually late risers, and when they woke they were all smiles.

lunch was tiny burgers at a restaurant thats gift shop consisted of a james dean purse, bunny ears (in july, mind you), holographic dolphin posters, and “hillbilly cookbooks” — wuddup south. around seven we finally arrived in kentucky at what was supposed to be our first stop. musty, dusty, and yucky – it was so sad to see such a great piece of americana history going to junk. this has been long on our must-see list, so not all was lost. and clearly, oliver was enjoying his time finally out of the car!

the next morning, we got more tiny burgers (our area doesnt have whitecastle, so we took full advantage) and headed to the park with helen and her son gabe. ollie and gabe followed each other, poked each others bellies, and took each others sippy cups. yaknow, baby stuff. ; )

onward to downtown louisville where we crossed half of the walking bridge to indiana. the heat was brutal and the babies were a-sweatin, so we roamed the city for iced tea at heine bro coffee co, and found fair trade baskets for insanely inexpensive. we also got maribelle this quilt that youre going to be get tired of seeing because i’m obsessed.

the next day we spent just the four of us – steve and i with the kids. we ate at a farm to table restaurant and got their duck fat popcorn to go, heading back to the walking bridge to get some wiggles out. maribelle sunbathed while oliver ran around in circles making himself dizzy. the view one direction was indiana over the water, and the other was the skyline of lousiville. it was pretty much perfect.

bonfires, friends, and goodbyes. staying with helens family was the definition of hospitable. if they were a bed and breakfast, i’m pretty sure they’d make a killing. we had so much fun spending time with them and their friends, catching up, and sightseeing a bit. steve and helens husband adam shot off bows, talked hunting, and race cars, while helen and i talked motherhood, home stuff, and Gods love. this trip was so refreshing for all of us, and we’re dang excited to go back soon.

a few tips we aquired while traveling with two under two:

– snacks. seriously, all the snacks. on the daily, we try to not encourage snacking for oliver, but with a 12 hour trip whatever worked, we went with. pretty much at all times on the way there and the way back we kept a snack container filled with bunny grahms or puffs.

– water jugs. we brought along three, using the for cleaning things out (ex: sippies used for milk, and then rinsed for water) we also used the water for drinking to save on bottled water along the way.

– location location location. we organized the car where everything we could need was within reach to minimize unnecessary stops. diaper bag stocked was between the kids, as well as blankets and an extra burp cloth. snacks and tissues were on the floor of the backseat between the seats for easy grabbing. a small first aid kit in the glove compartment and phone chargers on hand. we stopped about four times each way, using those stops for nursing, bathroom, food and running time for oliver all at once.

– if youre kids use binkies (both of ours do) invest in a binky clip. we used ours from nomilude for both of the kids so they werent able to throw them somewhere out of reach, thus resulting in an extra stop. this was a big one for us because oliver just loves to toss his binky willy nilly, and fusses soon after.

– steal kisses. i think this is the most important tip of all. kiss that husband of yours. hold his hand. comment on how good hes taking those winding roads like a pro. its easy to get distracted by the stress of bringing the kids along for a lengthy trip, but its still your trip as well. enjoy it. xx